Trent Hodkinson

[LFC Bulldogs]

Didn’t he have serious knee issues that hampered his career and speed?

 

[JayBee]

His knees were shot to shit.

We had to let him go

 

[Master Coach]

What a shit post lol. Hodko was literally only a good goal kicker. He was slow, no running game and general playmaking wasnt the best.
The only reason we were dominant 12-14
Barba
Morris
Forward pack

 

[Bulldog1966]

i knew a Newcastle supporter who was excited when they were getting him.
i said you soon won't be he is shit.

 

[turveys asthma puffer]

He did well considering he could barely run and he was comitted in defence but he wasn’t involved anywhere near enough to be considered anything but average. That SOO where he scored the winning try with a show and go happened because he hadn’t taken the line on on the opposition quarter all series and he caught them completely bu surprise.

 

[bradtalo]

Hodkinson is underrated imo. His playstyle complimented Reynolds (and Mbye's) playstyle very well. A lesser version of Luai and Cleary you see now. I think it was a massive mistake not replacing Hodkinson properly and continuing with two running halves in Reynolds and Mbye (even Frawley towards the end). It was very unlikely that either of them would be able to transition into a genuine 7 (or even hybrid). I think this decision as well as the decision around the hooker and Lichaa were two of Des' biggest F up's in regards to the roster around the time we had the roster to compete. I know a lot of people like to call these players bad, etc. but a bad player isn't selected for NSW (at halfback, the most important position) and wins the series breaking the drought, and a lot of players that left the Bulldogs around the time were worse of afterwards (in ability and confidence) for whatever reason. Flanagan might finally be Hodkinson's replacement.

Yes I agree. Letting Hodkinson go was one of the biggest reasons for our downfall from there. He was our organiser / general. Reynolds and Mbye couldn't handle the job. Further proof Des was a f..king idiot in spotting talent (Mbye LOL) just like his mate Cleal. Des can only perform these days with other people's rosters.

 

[Phalangist]

Hodkinson is underrated imo. His playstyle complimented Reynolds (and Mbye's) playstyle very well. A lesser version of Luai and Cleary you see now. I think it was a massive mistake not replacing Hodkinson properly and continuing with two running halves in Reynolds and Mbye (even Frawley towards the end). It was very unlikely that either of them would be able to transition into a genuine 7 (or even hybrid). I think this decision as well as the decision around the hooker and Lichaa were two of Des' biggest F up's in regards to the roster around the time we had the roster to compete. I know a lot of people like to call these players bad, etc. but a bad player isn't selected for NSW (at halfback, the most important position) and wins the series breaking the drought, and a lot of players that left the Bulldogs around the time were worse of afterwards (in ability and confidence) for whatever reason. Flanagan might finally be Hodkinson's replacement.

Ever thought maybe these days the depth that Queensland and Nsw have isn’t as high as high as it was in the 90’s and early 2000’s with more and more kiwis playimg in our competition?

 

[Phalangist]

But if hodkinson was our halfback in the 2012 gf I think we would have won because Keating was not a 7.

 

[bulldogsmyte]

Qld doesn’t win many series without Smith, but they did. Tough school here when we can bag rep players, Hokko was the best available NSW half who scored the series winning try you can’t take that away from him. SOO like no other is a 17 man game without Trent making many 1 on 1 tackles those whom played outside him might of been exposed. Just need to give credit where credit is due.

Hodko scored an Origin try 5m out from the tryline. He made 1 on 1 tackles like any Origin player should. That does not make him a great half and playmaker in the Mortimer class. As I already said NSW had crap halves to choose from during that era which is why they persisted with Pearce of Crap for nearly a decade. If Hodko was from Qld would he have played Origin? When hell freezes over.

 

[Alan79]

Halves can offer quality in a few ways.
1) Brains- I'd say someone like Cooper Cronk is a great example of this. He wasn't incapable of making a good run, but his best attribute was a quick brain and the ability to read the play and envision where the opportunity existed for several players at once. He didn't frequently make great line breaks, but the players around him looked a lot better because he was simplifying the game for them. I saw similar things with Brent Sherwin. Could make a good run but wasn't a rocket, but his quick thinking allowed those around him to shine.

2) Athleticism- These guys will typically be great running halves. I look at someone like Thurston in his early years as a prime example. He had great instinct for setting up support too, but his pace and footwork meant that he could split the defence frequently. Sean Johnson is another guy who on his best days does best because he's quick. But he's far easier to shut down if you can focus defence on him.

3) Effort players- It's a bit harder to define these types of players. Foran in his later years probably was a good example. His running game was no longer doing it for him, but he had some vision and still took the line on even when he was going to get smashed to create an opportunity for those around him. Reynolds was in this mould too. Love him or hate him, everything came off the back of a never say die attitude for JR. Where skill sometimes wasn't doing it, he could inspire others by just plugging away when the team had their heads down.


I saw Hodkinson as a player that fit in (1) mostly. He was great at what he did. He was a cool head in high pressure situations that directed play very well. His general play kicking was quite good and his decision making was also an asset. By the time he came to us he had very little cartilage left in his knees. So his running game wasn't great. It seems like a huge portion of the kennel don't rate halves if they lack in a superb running game. But above all if a halfback can increase the odds of others around them scoring they're good at their job. Not everybody sees this, but if a half is reliant on a running game to create everything, they can be easily shut down by swamping them with defence. A half that creates for five or six others will mean that the defence can't focus on them alone and will have to be on their toes for an unexpected play from numerous support players.

From what I've seen of Flanagan (Not a huge amount to be honest), he's closer to the Hodkinson mould than a Sean Johnson type. Rather than running the ball often, he'll hopefully be getting the ball to the right players at the right time and calling the shots. If that means these touches of quality we've recruited in the backline aren't reliant on their own attributes to create opportunity it'll allow them to perform better. Hopefully it also means that when it makes sense to pop an inside ball to a forward with momentum, they'll be a huge threat too. We've lacked a great decision maker for a while. And while I'm not sold on Flanagan yet, I'm hoping that he provides that direction more than for him to be reliant on running himself.

 

[Dog4life77]

disagree i reckon he was mostly bog average..couldnt wait for him to fuck off.

Was he bog average when he kicked us into the 2014 GF?
If anything,he was underrated and when he finally got a shot at origin,he clinched the series for NSW

 

[w00t]

Hodkinson would've been decent if we had a star 5/8 to play outside him, but with him and Reynolds we were never going to win a premiership barring us having an x factor player that would literally carry us to the premiership (Barba almost did in 2012)

 

[Kempsey Dog]

Hodko only played origin because all the great halves were in Qld - Thurston, Cronk, DCE etc and NSW was left with Pearce of crap for years. Hodko had next to no vision, could barely run, hardly ever threatened the opposition or put players through holes. All he did was kick on the last tackle and kick goals/field goals. Take Hayne out of NSW and they lose that series that Hodko played in.

Yet he did what other couldn't in previous years including Maloney

 

[The DoggFather]

It's 2021.... lol

 

[Mr Beast]

Hodkinson would've been decent if we had a star 5/8 to play outside him, but with him and Reynolds we were never going to win a premiership barring us having an x factor player that would literally carry us to the premiership (Barba almost did in 2012)

Barba, is one of my favourite player to watch, to have ever worn the blue and white.

 

[Scorpio]

Hodko is the undisputed iceman when it came to kicking clutch field goals..

Had a good defensive game.

Kicking game was good.

Had a nice pass on him also.

Attacking game was average - i blame his bung knee for that. the guy could barely walk.

 

[Stoofy]

His bad knees killed his game

 

[dogwhisperer]

I actually liked Hodko.
I always felt confident when he was playing.
The team just looked better because he was a good organizer and he had a good kicking game. He never looked out of place in the blue and white no.7
When Mbye and Reynolds were playing 7 & 6 we just looked so dis-functional on the field.

 

[Gawd_Dawg_BB]

Hodko what a fucking legend took on the giants of SOO and the little bastards achieved a miracle

 

[Headmix]

Good defender ...tough... but very slow.